Thursday, December 19, 2013

Teaching humility, well, it's humbling. We can try to be humble and model it but our sinful nature can take over at times. We're human. Humility is best described as never putting yourself, your needs, before others. Taking the backseat and giving someone else the honor and glory. That's humility.

No spotlight. No partiality. Others first. That's humility.

When I think about teaching my children humility, my first thought is to tell them about Jesus. Read to them the story of Jesus.

Jesus Christ left the glories of heaven to come to earth and be a man. He left his Father. He left all adoration and praise to be a man on earth so that we could have hope. He left all majesty, honor and glory to come to earth. He was a King. And he came to save us. He left his kingdom to come to earth and save us.

He was raised as a carpenter's son, learning carpentry by trade. He lived modestly, and at times had not a place to rest his head at night. He learned all he could from his teachers, was obedient to his parents, worked hard, resisted Satan and had no sin in his life. Never a bad thought. Never a disagreeable tone. No envy. No jealousy. No covetousness. Never pinched his siblings in the car. No sin. Perfect. And he lived this out in an imperfect world full of all kinds of filthy sin.

He was beaten, brutally, and nailed to a cross. All the while pursuing us. Forgiving us. Loving us. He died and rose 3 days later because he wanted us to have a relationship with his Father and we couldn't without him. No hope for us without Jesus. He never quit pursuing us.

We don't deserve what he did for us. And he knows that. But he did it anyway. That's humility.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Family Fun Icebreaker: What is one of your future goals? Question: Why is God trustworthy?Topic 3: Trust—God Wants You to Know HimToday’s Big Idea: God Wants the Best for You
Share with your family that God is trustworthy because, through knowing
Him, you will gain eternal life with Him. God knows this is the best plan
for your life.
The questions give your family the opportunity to share about God’s future
hope for your family. God wants you to believe in His Son, Jesus, so that
you will not perish, but have an eternal life with God. God loves you and
wants a good future for you. Talk to your family about wanting the best for
others and learning to be a good friend. Just like God shares with you a plan
for a better future, you can desire the best for your friends and give them
good guidance. You can be a good friend to God by trusting and following
His direction for your life. You can be a good friend to others by offering
prayer or assistance in times of need. Encourage your family to be good,
trusted friends to others.

Talk with God: Read scriptures and questions below.
John 3:16 (ESV) (referring to Jesus): “For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life.”
John 17:3 (NIV): “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Walk with God:
Discuss with younger kids: We all want to have a good friend, but how
good of a friend are you? Good friends notice the works of other friends
and compliment them on a job well done. Compliments, or kind words,
are nice to get. You can compliment your friends. What about God? How
good of a friend are you to Him? Do you say thank you or tell Him that you
like something that He created? On a scale of 1to 10, where do you rank
for being a good friend? Would your friends agree with your rank? What do
you need to do to improve?
Discuss with older kids: One of the most amazing things that Jesus ever
did was give up His life for you. By doing this selfless act, He gave you the
hope of eternal life. Jesus is a good friend. Believe it or not, your parents
often give up their personal needs to serve your family. You may feel that
you give up your personal alone time for others. When you sacrifice your
self-centeredness, it is a gift. Are you selfless to your friends? Often, we
want friends to be there for us, but are you there for them? What kind of
friend are you to others? What do you think they would say about your
friendship?
Prayer suggestion: Pray for God to help you be a good friend.

We'll dive into God's word and explore what it means to be a Godly mom that prepares her children to counter the discouraging culture of today. We can't wait to share an AMAZING weekend with you, including:

Personal encouragement

Group prayer and worship

Multiple break-out session options

Spiritual enrichment

Top notch facilities

Fun Sky Ranch activities

Time to relax and reflect

Awesome coffee bar!

Register by calling 903-266-3300
or visitSky Ranch
for more information!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Family Fun Icebreaker: What do you like about the person to your
right?
Question: Why is God trustworthy?
Topic 3: Trust—God Wants You to Know Him
Today’s Big Idea: God is Good and Wants to Share
Share with your family that God is trustworthy because He is good and He
wants to share His goodness with you.
The questions give your family the opportunity to share about the goodness
of God. God is good. Creation, in its original state, is good. God wants to
share good things with you by giving you His Word and gifts from God’s
Holy Spirit. The discussion on the goodness of God can naturally lead to
thoughts on your own integrity. God has given you a basic understanding
of good and a desire to be good, but we still need God’s help to truly be
good consistently. Talk to your family about goodness in your conversation.
God desires for you to build others up and not tear them down. Your words
can be a powerful tool and, sometimes, you need God’s help to share His
goodness with others.

Talk with God: Read scriptures and questions below.
Psalm 106:1 (NLT): “Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the LORD,
for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
1 Timothy 4:4 (NIRV): “Everything God created is good. You
shouldn’t turn it down. Instead, you should thank God for it.”
Galatians 6:6 (ESV): “And let the one who is taught the word share
all good things with the one who teaches.”
Walk with God:
Discuss with younger kids: The goodness of God makes Him trustworthy.
Would you trust something that you know is evil? No! You can see the
amazing world that God designed, the family that God placed you in and
the amazing creation of ...YOU! God is very good all the time! Are you
good all the time? None of us are; we all need God’s help from time to time.
Others can see your goodness in the words that you choose to say. What
are your words like? Do you build up others with your words? Why or why
not?
Discuss with older kids: God is good and all that He makes is good. I bet
you have good intentions, but how good are you? It is hard to consistently
be good. We all have learned to say “my bad” to confess, right? Your words
reflect your heart. Do your words build people up or tear people down? We
all have a choice. How would you evaluate your words?

Prayer suggestion: Pray for God’s goodness to be reflected in your
words.

Friday, December 6, 2013

I love the mother/daughter dynamic. Guess it’s because I’ve got two daughters and was a daughter myself. Fancy that. But it always gets me thinking at Christmastime about the dynamic between Mary and her mom. Was her mom a mess when she heard the news? Did she take it personally, “Where did I go wrong?” You know the drill.

My imagination leads me in a different direction though. I have to think that God picked Mary because she was precious in His sight. She loved Him with her whole heart. She was raised to know God and loved Him with her whole heart. Her mom must have been a rock star! Right?! Way to go Mary’s mom! You did it, girl! You raised the mother of the Messiah! Props!

So this godly woman raised by a godly woman had to tell her godly mom she was pregnant.

Think about it. Let that moment simmer in your mind. Mary’s mom’s heart must have sunk. She must have thought about what others would say. The church ladies. What would they say about her as a parent? The rumors. I don’t know if it showed on her face before her daughter, but inside she must have been heartbroken. She was just a mom.

And yet God prepared her for this moment. It was because she was the parent she was that God chose her child to give birth to the Savior of the world.. This moment wasn’t about her as a mom, it was about her daughter’s destiny.

Having eyes to see God’s plan takes daily determination to sit at His feet and bask in His glory. Worshipping Him on a daily basis. Getting to know Him through His word. Then our gaze stays on Him and we are less likely to make it about us.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

This summer, many Sky Ranch family camp sessions delved into the Family Plan and curriculum developed by Dr. Larry Taylor of Kingdom Parenting. We are such fans of Larry Taylor, we wanted to let you know that he has recently released a book titledRunning with the Horseswhich equips parents with a guide for raising children to be servant leaders for Christ. Specific and practical, we highly recommend putting this book on your Christmas list! Sold atWestbow PressandAmazon."Larry's impact on our family has been instrumental. His Kingdom Family teachings have helped us to be more intentional as a family, to plan, goal set and make memories. He "gets" God's plan for the family. I highly recommend his new book." ~Lisa ClarkSky Ranch SkyMoms Parenting Mentor

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Family Fun Icebreaker: Who is a good friend to you? Why do you like
them?
Question: Why is God trustworthy?
Topic 3: Trust—God Wants You to Know Him
Today’s Big Idea: God is a Truthful Friend
Share with your family that God’s written Word is trustworthy and true.
God wants you to know truth and is a genuine friend to you!
The questions give your family the opportunity to share about the way a
genuine friend treats you. God, as your friend, shares truth with you. He
cares about you and wants you to know truth. God wants the very best in
life for you, even if it means letting you go through a difficult time to learn
a valuable lesson. Talk to your family about ways to recognize a genuine
friend. Friends are respectful of each other and cheer for success in each
other’s life. Help your family recognize someone who claims to be a friend,
but really isn’t one. Friends naturally joke with each other; however, does
the joke commonly cross the line and become hurtful? Encourage healthy
friendships. Help your family recognize their genuine friends and the
genuine friend that they have in Jesus.

Talk with God: Read scriptures and questions below.
Psalm 25:5 (ESV): “O Lord...lead me in your truth and teach me;
for you are the God of my salvation...”
Psalm 119:160 (ESV): “The sum of your word is truth...”
Psalm 25:14 (ESV): “The friendship of the Lord is for those who
fear (respect) him, and he makes known to them his covenants.”
Walk with God:
Discuss with younger kids: In school, church or camp, you can meet many
friends. But did you ever think of God as your friend? Good friends can
be great! They are there to support you, to hang out, to laugh with, and go
through experiences. Friends tell you the truth with kindness. But would a
real friend lie? God wouldn’t mislead you either! He is telling you the truth
in His Word. What are the similarities in your real friends and Jesus?
Discuss with older kids: Genuine friendship can be rare, especially in
middle school or high school. People claim to have your back, but gossip
behind your back at the same time. You can even be at odds with your
parents for a time. Sometimes, God seems to be your only friend and that
is normal. Learning to identify your real friends can be very valuable. Talk
about the way a real friend should treat you. What can you learn from your
relationship with Jesus that you can apply to your relationships with your
friends?
Prayer suggestion: Pray for God’s direction in your friendships.